Actress Ashley Tisdale has been granted a temporary restraining order against an overzealous male fan amid fears the devotee will gun her down.

The High School Musical star claims Nicholas Fiore has been harassing her since last year (12) and has bombarded her with more than 18,000 messages via Twitter.com.

She recently turned to Los Angeles police to investigate the matter, and she decided to file legal papers herself in Los Angeles County Superior Court in a bid to keep Fiore away.

In the documents, Tisdale reveals some of the tweets have featured song lyrics that reference guns, and the 27 year old has interpreted the lines as threats against her life and that of her boyfriend, musician Christopher French.

She also alleges that Fiore has twice turned up outside her property and once attempted to gain access to her home by posing as a delivery man, reports Tmz.com.

She stated, "If an immediate order is not granted... (Fiore) will attempt to cause or cause severe bodily harm to myself and my boyfriend."

Tisdale's request for a protective order was approved last week (ends17May13), but the judge only agreed to impose a ban of 100 yards (91.4 metres) on Fiore, instead of the 5,000 yards (4572 metres) she had asked for.

A hearing into the matter has been set for 5 June (13), when it will be determined if the order should be made permanent.